Should I Use Propecia Daily or 3 Times A Week For Hair Loss?
I visited your office last year in august and I was told that I most likely did not have “balding” just that my I had low hair density. This is contrary to a what another office told me. Quite frankly I trusted your doctor more, and he advised that since I was already been taking propecia to continue it if I wanted to be safe. Well I did continue it but have only been taking .25mg 3 times a week for over a year now and my hair has remained the same. In your opinion do you believe that .25mg 3 times a week would actually do enough to maintain my hair as it has if I was truly suffering from balding? I want to come off completely because I do suffer from some side effects but am afraid that if I do I will lose hair density.
If one doctor says you are not likely balding and another doctor says you are (and may need surgery) it is definitely a confusing situation. You may consider visiting a third doctor for another opinion. You may also consider the motivation behind any recommendation. If we told you that you were not balding, we must have used the HAIRCECK instrument to measure your hair bulk which is a very accurate way to determine if you are balding. If we did not use it, come back and let us do so.
With respect to Propecia, the recommended dose is one pill (finasteride 1mg) a day. Taking 0.25mg three times a week is not a typical way to take Propecia. Some people do take 0.5mg or 0.2mg daily. The key is taking the medication on a daily basis. It is important to note that you should contact your doctor if you want specific guidance.
Taking a daily medication 3 times a week at 1/4 the dose clinical studies supporting regulatory approval have shown to be effective is essentially doing your own experiment on a subject population of 1. In the absence of some side effect you believe would be improved with a reduced dose and dosage (albeit without any proof), why would anyone do this? Its like deciding to take your daily blood pressure or diabetes med 3 times weekly at 1/4 effective dose…and being surprised when it doesn’t work (although I appreciate that experimenting with dosing the latter two conditions would produce more serious health consequences with lack of efficacy than being bald).
Dr. Rassman. This is a very serious question:
-Why we are in 2016 and people with MPB don’t have a better and a safer alternative to Finasteride?
Don’t delete my comment. Please. People with MPB needs a better treatment than Finasteride.